


Where the Petals Fall

by BringForthTheDomain



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Broken Italy, Comfort, Depressed mindset, Dying Prussia, Florist AU, M/M, Minor death, living alone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-07-28 19:16:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7653493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BringForthTheDomain/pseuds/BringForthTheDomain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Italy has had a long, dark life. Sexual abuse, loss of loved ones, and being disowned by his whole family. He managed to get by with his Grandfathers old Flower shop. But one day he meets a man that will slowly fix him. Petal by petal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Only the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is a popular type of fanfiction to write. I was going to do this whole complicated flower based AU that will determine your life, and once picked will end all humanity, besides you and the person of your choice. But that's too much. I have recently seen stories very similar to this. Which is unintentional because I have been working on this for over a year and now I have the courage to publish it. Criticism is appreciated, but in a manner that will not harm anyone's feelings. If I get any references to this country wrong, I am sorry. I am only a humble girl from the US of A, and I'm doing as much research as possible. So mistakes are expected. Please enjoy.

I got up. I tried to get away, I really did. I needed to get away from my father's possessive touch.  
The smell of alcohol and tobacco burned my nostril, I could feel his large hands wrap around my delicate wrists in an unkind manner. He pulled my body back down to the couch, his breath was hot on my neck. As he began to rub my leg, I put all of my effort into trying to hit him in any way possible. It was no use, my arms felt as though I had just lifted weights twice my size. I couldn’t control any part of my body to move faster than 1 mile an hour. I realized why I had no energy, it was from the drink my father had given me. I should have known. For a father to give his 14 year old son wine? That did not seem very likely. He most likely spiked his drink with rohypnol. 

Oh no. This was not good. I would feel his hands starting to grope my ass, as he started to unzip his pants. 

“P-apa, st-stop..” my voice came out in a soft whimper, as the drugs were really starting to take a toll on my body.

“Oh, by the way it sounds, you are really starting to enjoy the thought of your Papa fucking you,” I could hear his voice as it boomed right next to my ear. 

“N-no-” as soon as I uttered those words, I had begun to realize that he had already had his member out. Once I almost finished my reply, I could feel the painful stretch of something entering me. 

I didn’t want this. I muffled a scream, trying to get someone, anyone to come help me. I called out for my older brother, but I knew he was at our cousin Antonio's house. I screamed and begged for my Grandpa Roma to come help, but it then dawned upon me that he was gone. Dead. My eyes started to water, my throat choked back a muffled sob. No one could help me.

No one ever would be there for me.

My father was the only one around, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

 

~~~~

 

I woke up in a cold sweat. My head was pounding. I've been having this dream for the past 8 years. My eyes glanced around my room to see I was alone in my apartment. I knew that it was just in the past. I needed to get up and go to work, it's the only part of me that still counted as family. 

My entire family had seemed to disown me. My brother went off to live in Spain with our cousin, while after I tried to file the abuse charges on my father, he was confirmed to be not guilty, for the statement of having a "lack of evidence”. He soon after kicked me out of his house, leaving me alone on the streets of Italy. I had nowhere to go. 

I was able to uphold the will to my Grandfather's old flower shop. I decided to took ownership of it, as that was the only place I could manage to get a job. Trying to survive on the salary of your own store isn't easy, but I managed to struggle through anyway. 

I walked down the street to the small shop. The street filled with the smell of authentic Italian food, and people walking around, enjoying the sites. My thoughts dragged me back to the realization of my miserable life. The same routine everyday, 

wake up,

work,

go home,

eat,

sleep.

I unlocked the door to the shop, walking in to be greeted with the fresh smell of flowers. I smiled as I checked on the shipment of lilacs I had ordered weeks ago. They seemed to be all in order.

The day droned on as it always did. Men coming in to buy their lovers a bouquet of roses, women trying to find the perfect arrangement for their upcoming weddings. I, as always, kept a fake smile and worked with all of them. Patient as always. 

It was only 12 o’clock, when a young man walked in. He caught my attention, for the reason that he was tall. Much taller than I would ever dream of being. And he had light blonde hair, and striking steel blue eyes. He only glanced around, and then looked back at me. He slowly paced over to the front of the counter, as he struggled to think of what to say.

“Ciao! Come posso aiutarti?” I asked him

His look was of confusion, and then I quickly caught onto his dilemma.

“Oh it’s okay sir, I speak English too.” is all I responded with.

“Ah, good. It would be embarrassing for me to even try to speak Italian.” He responded with a deep voice, flowing with a rich German accent. It made my heart flutter a little bit.

“What can I get for you today sir?” I asked as a smiled at him.  
“Ah, this may sound odd, but can I purchase just one rose?” he said with hesitation in his voice. He gave a weak smile of happiness, but his eyes did nothing. He obviously wasn't happy. 

“Sure thing! And may I ask, who is the special lady?” I asked as happily as possible as I grabbed a fresh rose from a bouquet, trimming the end.

His expression changed dramatically. His smile faded, and he looked sadly at the counter. He shuffled his feet a little, and I could see a few tears start to form in the corner of his eyes. 

“It’s…. It's actually for my brother. He’s sick in the hospital, and it doesn't look like he's going to last much longer.”

I immediately dropped the rose in surprise. I would have never guessed of this being the situation. I almost wanted to walk over and hug him. I knew exactly how he felt. Instead, I just kept talking.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry I mentioned it!” 

“No, no. It’s okay. It's better if I talk about it.” He took a deep breath, continuing.

“I knew for a while he’s been sick. Ever since he’s been younger, he has been diagnosed with brain cancer. We thought he would be better now, but while we were here for our family vacation from Germany, he became extremely ill.” He said, trying to hold back from sobbing.

“We don’t have enough to get him to a hospital back home. And he won’t last much longer, it would be too much of a hassle to get him back there. So I nominated myself to stay behind and take care of him in his…. Last days.”

He was on the verge of having a breakdown, but he obviously knew how to control himself. But there were a few tears strolling down his cheek.

“I'm so sorry for this whole situation,” I said with great sympathy. “My prayers for you and your whole family.”

“Thank you.” his response was almost inaudible, being a only a whisper. I kept my voice humble and quiet as I continued "That will be €3.58." He retrieved the money, which such slow movements. As he left the shop, his movement quickly regaining his confidence he had when he arrived. 

'This man has been through so much recently,' I thought 'I hope he will find someone who will take good care of him' 

Little did I know, that this was only the beginning.


	2. Greetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short but sweet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if I don't update all the time, but I have a life to live, which means I'm probably watching reruns of Disney movies. But I'm trying my best, and I don't intend on abandoning this story.

By the time my nightmare started, if felt like I had already woken up. 

When you live your life this way, holding the weight of your past on your back, everywhere you go, it can be very… Draining. To say the least. Just thinking about it makes me angry from time to time. But my troubles don't stop the world from turning, so I must live on. Make a living for myself, find someone to help me pay my mortgage, and ultimately just live my life earning money until I die.

So that's exactly what I do. 

So I quickly checked myself in the mirror. That stupid curl that never left the side of my head. It seemed to be a genetic thing in our family. But as many times as I have tried to cut it, I never find myself having the courage to get rid of it. It was something special about me I guess. 

I had no time to eat, so I just decided I would wait until later to get a coffee. And with one final check of my appearance, I was out the door.

As I walked to the flower shop, something sparks my interest. It only caught my eye for a brief second.  
It was a cat.  
And oh how much I love cats. They live a life that I dream of living. Eating, being loved, and sleeping. This cat just made my day. He noticed me, and started to approach me. He was bigger than most cats, but not in a “fat” sort of way. He had a sleek black coat and blue eyes that could make the sky jealous. 

Those eyes seemed a bit familiar.

But the world is large enough, it was probably only my imagination. 

The cat soon lost interest in me, quickly leaving as soon as he got there. 

What an odd cat. 

As I entered the shop, I noticed a letter inside of the front door. ‘Strange’ I thought ‘If anyone wanted to contact me, they could have just sent an email. I have the email address on a sign for a reason.’  
But I quickly got over my frustration and grabbed the letter, opening it with little to no effort. It read;

To the store clerk I spoke to yesterday,  
I wanted to contact you via email, but it seems I am having complications with my internet and my own email account. I got here earlier, but the store was closed. I needed to say that I will be coming at around 14:00, to give you time with this sudden request. I am in a rush to get an arrangement, so anything available will be fine. Know that I am not picky when it comes to flowers. Thank you for your cooperation.  
-Ludwig

Ludwig, so that was the name of German man I talked to yesterday. What a nice name. 

I quickly got to making his arrangement. I decided I would use that order of lilacs I had gotten yesterday. I added a few white roses with purple hues on the edges, and ties the stems with an elegant white silk ribbon. 

\----

The hours rolled past until he arrived. I was glad when he did, because business was running unusually slow. 

“Hello again!” I said with a shit eating smile, but he didn’t seem to buy into it. He only gave a faint nod.

“Ja, hello” was all he could respond with. 

“I hope you like this arrangement. Its simple, yet complicated.” 

“It looks wonderful, how much is it?” He sounded a little happier today. I really didn't want to intrude and ask what these flowers were for, like I did yesterday. But I had a pretty educated guess. So I just added up the total. 

“The total comes out to be, €46.37” I said, while my head was looking down at the cash register. 

He laughed a little, which took me aback.

“What's so funny?” I asked while looking up at his face, unable to stop myself from laughing a bit as well.

“It’s just, that's probably the cheapest flower arrangement I’ve found around here. The price on the other arrangements were insane. I found one that didn't even look nearly as good as this one, and it was €351” 

I blushed slightly at the subtle compliment.

“So I take it you were impressed with the service here?” I said, smirking.

“You could say I wasn't entirely disappointed.” He replied, with a hint of lightheartedness in his voice. 

“Well good! Then that means you can come by whenever you need anything. Life advice, dating advice, you name it.” This was probably the longest conversation I’d had in years.

And I liked it, a lot.

“But what about the flowers?”  
I smiled and laughed lightly, “Yeah, that's a part of it too.”

I sneakily left my number on his receipt. I knew that that was something you do for someone you were attracted to, but I knew that he needed someone to be friends with him, especially with what he was going through.

 

And I needed a friend too.


End file.
